This invention generally relates to athletic training equipment and, more specifically to determining the position of a punching bag.
A punching bag (i.e., an athletic training device) is designed to be repeatedly struck by an individual. A speed bag is a small punching bag which comprises a generally round body that decreases in diameter towards an upper end, thereby forming a neck that is of significantly smaller diameter that the generally round body. The neck is attached at a terminal end to a stand by a swivel connector or other coupling. The coupling permits the speed bag to freely pivot about its terminal end. The stand is vertically positioned such that the portion of the generally round body of the speed bag having the largest diameter is positioned at or around the eye-level of an individual utilizing the speed bag. The coupling is attached to a section of the stand which comprises a circular or rectangular platform that is generally planar and rigid. The stand is in turn attached to a fixed structure, such as a wall or ceiling. Alternatively, the stand may be free-standing.
In operation, an individual strikes the generally round body of the speed bag with a portion of their body (i.e., their hand). The bag accordingly travels away from the individual and strikes the generally planar and rigid section of the stand. The speed bag rebounds off of the stand and travels toward the individual. The process then repeats itself, with the individual striking the bag again. A variety of techniques or rhythms may be utilized by an individual when striking the bag. For example, according to one technique (i.e., a triplet rhythm) an individual may strike the bag after it has rebounded off the stand three times.
As the speed bag is an athletic training device, individuals utilize it to improve their coordination or level of conditioning. Accordingly, individuals often desire to measure the rate at which they are striking the speed bag to gauge their progress in improving their level of coordination or to compare their rate of striking the bag to the rates achieved by other individuals. While an individual may be able to comparatively differentiate the rate at which they are able to strike the bag, they are generally not able to quantitatively measure the rate at which they strike the bag.
Previous systems measure the rate at which the individual strikes the speed bag with mechanical pressure sensors that record each instance of the speed bag coming into contact with the stand. Mechanical sensors are positioned such that the speed bag contacts the sensors when rebounding off of the stand. These sensors inevitably degrade and fail over time as they are subjected to repeated mechanical contact with the speed bag. Other systems measure the rate of striking the bag with optical sensors that require the bag to interrupt a beam of light emitted from one sensor and received by another sensor. Each “interruption” or interval thereof is recorded as a strike upon the speed bag. To function properly, the sensors must be positioned such that they are prone to being struck by the speed bag during normal operation and therefore suffer similar shortcomings common to systems utilizing mechanical pressure sensors.
Accordingly, a system and corresponding methods are needed which reliably determine the position of a speed bag without subjecting the system to mechanical contact with the speed bag.